NEWS WAVE - Download free "Hungry like the wolf" remix by Steve Aoki

Simon Le Bon ‏@SimonJCLeBON

FREE download of the "Hungry like the Wolf" Steve Aoki+Duran Duran The New York Werewolf Mix: http://bit.ly/MvCvs9”

VIDEOKILLER/NEW GOLD DREAMS - "The Truth" by PNAU

VIDEOKILLER - "Talk Talk" by Talk Talk

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OFF THE RECORDS - "The Spirit of Talk Talk" is here to stay! (Thanx to Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode...)

THE SPIRIT OF TALK TALK - CD: A double tribute album celebrating the visionary band, Talk Talk. Designed by James Marsh and released by Fierce Panda on September 3rd 2012.

Descrizione

FEATURING 30 artists, including: Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode/ Recoil), White Lies, King Creosote, Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), Zero 7, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), Joan As Police Woman, Sean Carey (Bon Iver), Lights, Goldheart Assembly, Thomas White (Electric Soft Parade), Fyfe Dangerfield (Guillemots), Thomas Feiner, The Black Ships, Turin Brakes, as well as Ian Curnow, David Rhodes, Gaynor Sadler and Martin Ditcham, all of whom worked with Talk Talk.

The CD PACKAGE is designed by Talk Talk’s graphic artist James Marsh using a stunning cover created in 1983 for a prospective album 'Chameleon Hour', but never released.

Alan Wilder is the musical and production supervisor for the project, and the album has been mastered by Denis Blackham, who was also responsible for mastering many of Talk Talk’s albums.

TRACKS come from both sides of the Atlantic, and from seven countries in total, featuring some incredible collaborations.

Track listing :

01. WEALTH - Lone Wolf
02. THE COLOUR OF SPRING - Zero 7
03. I BELIEVE IN YOU - S.Carey
04. DUM DUM GIRL - Recoil ( feat. Shara Worden )
05. LIFE'S WHAT YOU MAKE IT - Duncan Sheik
06. THE RAINBOW - Thomas Feiner, Fyfe Dangerfield, Robbie Wilson
07. AFTER THE FLOOD - Halloween, Alaska
08. IT'S GETTING LATE IN THE EVENING - Peter Broderick, Nils Frahm, Davide Rossi
09. GIVE IT UP - King Creosote
10. LIVING IN ANOTHER WORLD - Lights ( feat. Darkstars )
11. THE RAINBOW - Zelienople
12. MYRRHMAN - Joan As Police Woman
13. RUNEII - The Last Dinosaur
14. ? - Jack Northover


CD 2:

01. IT'S MY LIFE - The TenFiveSixty
02. INHERITANCE - Recoil ( feat. Linton Kwesi Johnson & Paul Marshall ) 03. ASCENSION DAY - Turin Brakes
04. TODAY - White Belt Yellow Tag
05. I DON'T BELIEVE IN YOU - Ian Curnow ( feat. Human )
06. CHAMELEON DAY - Goldheart Assembly
07. APRIL 5TH - Matthias Vogt Trio
08. NEW GRASS - Do Make Say Think
09. TOMORROW STARTED - Jason Lytle
10. GIVE IT UP - White Lies
11. TIME IT'S TIME - Lia Ices
12. THE PARTY'S OVER - The Lovetones
13. CANDY - Thomas White
14. RENÉE - The Black Ships ( feat. Amelia Tucker )
15. TAPHEAD - The Acorn
16. I BELIEVE IN YOU - Richard Reed Parry

Additional bonus tracks available to download at digital stores -

01. ASCENSION DAY - Minerva Lions
02. IT'S MY LIFE - Mike Gill ( feat. Robert Owens )
03. EDEN - Kurran & The Wolfnotes

Please visit www.fiercepanda.co.uk for more details.


SPIRIT OF TALK TALK - BOOK:
A richly illustrated, beautifully designed book celebrating the music and art of the legendary Talk Talk will also be available 27th September 2012. Every copy will be individually signed by James Marsh, who offers a fascinating insight into all his wonderful Talk Talk paintings including inspiration and illustrated sketches.

Chris Roberts, one of the UK’s leading music journalists, traces Talk Talk’s history and evolution, reflecting on their unique journey from synth-pop to near-silence.

The book features stunning photos by Richard Haughton, Sheila Rock and many other leading rock photographers from ’81 - ‘91. Many of these shots have never before been made public and feature vivid live shots from the superb Montreux festival gig.

The book also features 100 written contributions from bands, label owners, DJs and creatives, all of whom share their appreciation and influences, inspired by the music and art of Talk Talk.

Contributors include: Guy Garvey (Elbow), Sir Peter Blake, Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode/Recoil), Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), James Lavelle (UNKLE), Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), Nick McCabe (The Verve/The Black Ships), Richard Wright (Pink Floyd), Mark Radcliffe, Tom Fleming (Wild Beasts), Matt Johnson (The The), Jimi Goodwin (Doves), Sean Carey (Bon Iver), Paul Hartnoll (Orbital), Karl Hyde (Underworld), Charles Cave (White Lies), Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), Kenny Anderson (King Creosote), Gideon Coe ,Tim Elsenberg ( Sweet Billy Pilgrim), and Olly Knights (Turin Brakes).

‘Spirit Of Talk Talk’ also includes extracts from the Talk Talk chapters of Phil Brown’s excellent book ‘Are We Still Rolling’, as well as in-depth interviews with Talk Talk musicians including John Turnbull, Ian Curnow, Phil Reis and Martin Ditcham.
For more details or to register your interest for the book please visithttp://spiritoftalktalk.com/

Projects conceived and co-ordinated by Toby Benjamin.
Dedicated to Mark Hollis and Talk Talk.

NEWS WAVE/LET'S TOUR - It's the Ultravox Day! New "Brilliant" album out, new European tour dates!

Seminal electro pioneers Ultravox have issued the artwork for their first new album in 28 years, ‘Brilliant’ which is released on May 28th through EMI. The legendary quartet of Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross and Warren Cann have created an album that not only stands alongside the finest work of their career but firmly places them as both a huge influence upon, and a vital contemporary force within, today’s musical climate.

Recorded in Canada, Los Angeles and the UK, ‘Brilliant’ is a stunning tour de force. “I think this record is probably the best one we’ve ever done,” explains Midge Ure, “because the songs are so much stronger than before. There’s a lovely naivety you have when you start out where you throw things together and think that they’re great and somehow that affects other people, but I think the fact that we’ve been working away separately over the years perfecting our art comes out on this record.”

The writing process for the twelve songs on ‘Brilliant’ started when Billy and Chris joined Midge at his house in Canada. “I have a house in the middle of the woods by a lake in Montreal and we realised if the three of us went to my house out there and sat down with some laptops, keyboards and guitars with no outside distractions at all, we could find out whether we were actually capable of writing something together again. And it was a phenomenal experience, a great bonding thing for the three of us; we just ate, slept and breathed music. It was a very, very instant thing, like getting back onto the horse again. We climbed back onto the saddle again and we were off and running.”

It was this sense of starting again that, according to Midge, really inspired the band. “That’s what we were trying to do when we first started, make something unique, something that came from the four of us. You can hear directly from what we were doing thirty years ago stuff that was coming out of deepest, darkest Germany - bands like Kraftwerk and Neu - but you can also hear the pop of Roxy Music and David Bowie and you put that mixture together and it becomes unique because nobody else sounds like that collective. But over the years we had an awful lot of followers and you can still hear some of that influence running through music today with other bands, the melody and the structure and the atmospherics.”

Yet the fact that the four members of Ultravox have come together again means that ‘Brilliant’ has the singular, unique sound which has inspired so many of today’s artists, but never been bettered.“If it was Ultravox with a slightly different line-up, if one of us wasn’t there it wouldn’t have that link but because the four of us are there together it has that link. Something about the persona of these characters coming together and those emotions turns it into something else.”

Further sessions in Canada and LA to record Warren’s drum parts followed leaving Midge, Billy and Chris to finish the recordings in their home studios. With the album almost complete they decided to bring in an outside producer to bring the whole album together.

“We didn’t want to lose the momentum and dry up after this amazing flurry of activity and great creative bubble,” recalls Midge. “So that’s when [producer] Steve Lipson came into the process at the end and helped us fine-tune everything. He’s very much a musician and became almost a fifth member of the band for a while, and he would challenge and question us on everything. We’d done about a year’s work on our own, very isolated and insular, and nobody else had heard anything. So once he came on board and got involved it just worked incredibly well.”

And the result is astonishing. From the opening, swelling barrage of ‘Live’ with its instantly identifiable piano motifs through the epic rock of ‘Flow’ to first single and title track ‘Brilliant’, there is no mistaking the sound of Ultravox; the huge choruses, the impassioned vocals, the driving rhythms and pulsing electronics.

‘Rise’ is a modern computer-pop classic while the likes of ‘Remembering’, ‘One’ and ‘Change’ evoke the cinematic atmospheres Ultravox do so well. Coupled with the widescreen drama of ‘Lie’, the chiming exoticism of ‘Satellite’, the sinister tension of ‘Hello’ and the chilling heartbreak of ‘Fall’, Ultravox have crafted an album that may well be ranked as their finest work to date.

The final part of the jigsaw puzzle was choosing which record company to release the album through, as the band had a number of offers on the table. But it was EMI, the band’s home for many years that they decided to return to. “We’ve always had the EMI connection through being signed to Chrysalis and EMI did such a fantastic job with the reissues around the ‘Return To Eden’ shows that it felt very natural. EMI got it, and understood what we were doing and understood the standards we have. We spent six weeks rehearsing for a three week tour to make sure it was as good as it could be and EMI are able to work to the same high standards.”

More info on the European tour dates below, with further details to follow on a few of the shows to follow where marked tomorrow.

Please note that Italy is the ONLY show in Europe which will have a presale. This presale will start on Wednesday 30th May for 24 hours only (link in listing below, no password required).

SEPTEMBER 2012 21 Bristol Colston Hall 22 Oxford New Theatre 23 Portsmouth Guildhall 25 Nottingham Royal Centre 26 Birmingham Symphony Hall 27 Hammersmith HMV Apollo 29 Guildford G Live 30 Manchester Palace Theatre

OCTOBER 2012 02 Southend Cliffs Pavilion 03 Ipswich Regent Theatre 04 Sheffield City Hall 06 Blackpool Opera House 07 Glasgow Clyde Auditorium 08 Gateshead Sage

OCTOBER 2012

• 10.10.12 - France, Paris, Trabendo - on sale 30th May
• 11.10.12 - Belgium, Antwerp, Trix Hall - on sale now / 0900 00 600
• 12.10.12 - Holland, Tilburg, Poppodium - on sale 2nd June / 0900 300 12 50
• 14.10.12 - Germany, Hamburg, Docks - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 15.10.12 - Denmark, Copenhagen - MORE INFO TOMORROW
• 16.10.12 - Sweden, Malmö - on sale 30th May / +46 771 651 000
• 18.10.12 - Finland, Helsinki - on sale 30th May / 358 (0) 600-1-1616
• 20.10.12 - Sweden, Stockholm - on sale 30th May / +46 771 651 000
• 21.10.12 - Norway, Oslo, Rockefeller - on sale now / 00 815 11211
• 23.10.12 - Sweden, Gothenburg- on sale 30th May / +46 771 651 000
• 25.10.12 - Germany, Berlin, Columbiahalle - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 26.10.12 - Germany, Mainz, Phoenixhalle - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 27.10.12 - Germany, Leipzig, Haus Auensee - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 29.10.12 - Germany, Munich, Kesselhaus - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 30.10.12 - Austria, Vienna - MORE INFO TOMORROW

NOVEMBER 2012

• 01.11.12 - Switzerland, Zurich - MORE INFO TOMORROW
• 03.11.12 - Germany, Memmingen, Stadthalle - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 05.11.12 - Italy, Milan - PRESALE 30th / general sale 31st May / +39 0253006501
• 07.11.12 - Germany, Köln, E-Werk - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 08.11.12 - Germany, Bielefeld, Ringlokschuppen - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000

The Brilliant microsite has now launched, and you can either pre-order the album from there or directly from www.ultravox.org.uk/store.shtml. These are the same Amazon (worldwide), Townsend, HMV, Play & iTunes links that appear on the EMI microsite, and there is no difference to ordering from either; your order will be helping EV either from either location (thank you!).
You will still be able to view the video clips and competitions (all worldwide this time) which will appear on the microsite; no purchase is necessary to see them or to take part.

NEWS WAVE - Against all odds, Duran Duran is the perfect band for the Olympics

Article by Paul Morley for "The Observer"

All through the 80s, I hated Duran Duran, when for some they were the kings of pop. I hated them because they acted as though they were minor members of the royal family, but those that loved them did so because they made grand, escapist music reflected in escapist videos celebrating their own playboy riches.

When I interviewed them for the NME in 1982, they were already lording it over the charts and playing ornate pop rooted in the otherness of Bowie and the cool of Roxy Music but somehow also in the scarves of the Bay City Rollers and the barnets of Slik. I was so angry at their self-importance that I could never bring myself to call them by the name they had lifted from Roger Vadim's Barbarella – they seemed more soap than space opera.

I used different names for them, my favourite being Diana Diana. (Writing such a piece now, I would call them, among other things, Seb Seb or Lordy Lordy.) Even then, they resembled the freshly minted Princess of Wales; you could see where her look as a fan derived from, certainly her hair, eyeliner and posing genius. You could see Diana as the female member of Duran Duran as Cilla was the female Beatle.

That's one reason why it's apt that they have been selected to be the English pop act marking the opening of the Olympic Games, a decision that provoked so much hand-wringing last week. Duran Duran created a soundtrack to the Diana years and carry with them the glory and burden of those years in much the same way Vera Lynn does for the war years. And, of course, they are mates of James Bond, if merely the plastic Roger Moore model, sealing the "international-symbol-of-Britain-whether-we-like-it-or-not" deal when two Beatles are dead and Adele and Coldplay are too extreme, and when most of the world has no knowledge of PJ Harvey and Arctic Monkeys, let alone Siouxsie and the Fall.

But I hated them, in the 80s. I hated them from the point of view of a rock critic taking pop seriously, even when it was just for fun. They fancied themselves as not so much the made-up boy band they clearly were – the pretty one, the chubby one, the moody one, possibly the talented one, etc – but as Peel-listening pop conceptualists mixing the Sex Pistols with Chic. (Wanton English energy and brazen processed disco, an interesting formula I may have stolen when working with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, my personal chart retort to Dreary Dreary.) Duran Duran, though, sounded forced, lacking the subversive swagger of the Pistols and the transcendent swing of Chic and leaving behind an embellished melodic sludge. They were perhaps more Sweet crossed with Abba – a classically cheering formula for the flashy, revivalist entertainment required by an Olympic Games opening ceremony.

To understand them you need to understand the times. Duran Duran arrived only a few years after punk transformed the idea of what rock could be, in a Britain dragging itself out of the bruising, disorientating 70s. Things were intellectually and spiritually tightening up inside the iron grip of Thatcherism, and at the same time loosening up economically and socially.

Music magazines turned glossy, gossipy and colourful, requiring new sorts of decorated fairytale cover stars, a backlash against the hifalutin' weekly inkies containing thousands of intense words about Cabaret Voltaire.

All new pop then made by those interested in being the latest thing had to be influenced by punk, if just the look, the clothes and the expression. One consequence was an experimental sonic elaboration of punk's ideological spirit and aesthetic vision but a rejection of the safety-pinned visual cliche; this became known as post-punk. Another consequence was more theatrical, with dandy tabloid-labelled New Romantics looking back longingly over the spiky heads of the harsher, angrier punk to the showy costumes and window-dressing camp of glam, where pop stars looked like pop stars.

Some groups could float, sometimes self-consciously, sometimes serenely, between those two camps – Human League, Japan, Depeche Mode, ABC – and others occupied a more purist, thoughtful zone, advocating mental glamour – Gang of Four, New Order, Associates, Magazine, the Smiths. The hardcore New Romantics were definitely all about the clothes, cosmetics, travel and showing off; as a response to grievous, turbulent times, Steve Strange, Spandau Ballet, Wham! and Duran Duran preferred the dolled-up posing in pampered cliques inside VIP sections of exclusive nightclubs. They weren't privileged, but pretended they were, which could be annoying if you didn't get the joke, and especially annoying and complacent when it isn't a joke.

New Romance wasn't all about the fancy dress, shaky pretension and cocktails. There were those displaying convincing signs of resistance to the mediocre, to the restrictive and ordinary – the presence on Top of the Pops of daring Boy George blurring the sexes and positively confusing the mainstream mind, Soft Cell's northern sauce, and something deviant dripping from Adam Ant's painted brow was a sign of intact subversive punk spirit filtered through a kinky dream of Bowie.

Those moaning about Duran Duran singing for the Olympics are being as nostalgic for something as the thing they criticise is – nostalgic for a time when it was clearer what the meaning and purpose of pop was and why it was worth fighting for. They are inheriting 30-year-old critical standards that do not apply now. It's the same with Eurovision. Something perhaps representing a deeper, richer and more inspiring sense of the restless, radically creative British spirit would be crushed by the essentially fraudulent and kitsch nature of the event. I worry about the Specials, Blur and New Order show closing the Olympics and any remaining transformative energy being squashed by routine, committee-organised ceremony.

Engelbert is finger-on-the-pulse correct for Eurovision, where the English pop 60s might as well never have happened, let alone glam, punk and rave, in the way Duran Duran are finger-on-the-pulse correct for an Olympics event, which has nothing to do with music, art, innovation and fashion, but is to do with publicity, marketing, fabricated history and the celebration of success.

In a mainstream pop world so thoroughly emptied, mostly by constant, degrading replication, of pop art, punk militancy, artistic surprise and disruptive, maverick gaiety, Duran Duran as representatives of English talent are an incredible, inspired choice. Theirs is not necessarily musical talent, but just a brilliant ability to take themselves seriously in the middle of general superficial commercial mayhem, to manifest a sense of occasion, however preposterous, and parade their own self-appointed greatness – self-promotional skills that make the group as contemporary as anything. Equally of the moment is their unashamed conclusion first broadcast while Thatcher cruelly reigned that tough times call for nothing more and nothing less than a party; 30 years later, tough times, unsympathetic, cutting Tory government, and the wrinkled New Romantic superheroes are still available to those that need saving through sheer hammy, self-loving spectacle.

So, yes, I've hated Duran Duran since the 80s, but now, in a world where they are attacked for being too old and dated, for obviously accepting a prominent showbusiness invitation, I find myself drifting toward a sympathetic position. I don't love them or anything – that's impossible, especially after their version of Elvis Costello's Watching the Detectives, which is Rolf Harris meets David Sylvian. I may, though, have developed a grudging respect for the way as enduring light entertainers they're perfectly poised in a very modern fashion between being prized national treasures and grotesque figures of fun. The marginalised, even mocked, New Romantic movement they stolidly represent has, for better or worse, turned out to be a big influence on the current ostentatious, synthetic pop landscape filled with bragging, stunts and fancy dress.

Perhaps stubborn Duran Duran were right all along; being a pop star is all about being sure of yourself, whatever anyone else says.

The Old Romantics

FLOCK OF SEAGULLS

Known for singer Mike Score's hairstyle as much as singles like I Ran (So Far Away), they had a series of international hits in the early 80s.

DEPECHE MODE

Now one of the biggest goth-pop acts in the world, but started life as New Romantics - 1981's Just Can't Get Enough was the first of many top ten singles.

VISAGE

Formed by Steve Strange, right, and Rusty Egan, released three albums in the early 80s and had their biggest success with Fade To Grey, a worldwide hit.

SPANDAU BALLET

With hits like True and Gold, Spandau Ballet were one of the biggest acts of the 80s. They split in 1990, but reformed for a world tour in 2009.

JAPAN

Unsurprisingly big in the Far East, the avant-garde five-piece had their biggest UK hit with Ghosts, which reached number five in the singles chart in 1982.

VIDEOKILLER - "Stand and Deliver" by Adam&The Ants

VIDEOKILLER - "Who's that girl?" by Eurythmics

LET'S TOUR - Paul Young (forever) in concerto a Gorizia

(ANSA) - ROMA, 3 MAG - Ha fatto ballare le discoteche italiane dei primi anni Ottanta con 'Love of The Common People'; ha rivaleggiato con Mick Hucknall dei Simply Red per conquistare il cuore delle teenager di quegli anni. Paul Young, vera e propria icona pop rock degli anni Ottanta, si esibisce a Gorizia nell'unica tappa italiana del suo tour europeo, il 4 maggio al Teatro comunale G. Verdi. La voce inconfondibile del grande interprete britannico e' entrata nei cuori di molti italiani anche per il celebre duetto realizzato con Zucchero in 'Senza Una Donna (Without A Woman)'. La sua lunga carriera lo vede esordire con il singolo 'Iron Out The Rough Spots' alla fine del 1982, ma e' con il successivo pezzo, la cover reggae-pop di 'Love of The Common People' di Nicky Thomas che Paul Young si guadagna un posto nel firmamento degli anni Ottanta cui segue un tour mondiale. Tra i suoi successi piu' amati, 'I'am gonna tear your playhouse down', 'Everything must change', 'Wonderland', 'Come back and stay' e le notissime 'Every time you go away' e 'Lovin' you'.

NEW GOLD DREAMS - Oblique

Oblique begans its musical journey in mid-2003 with their debut release Acapulco (Greenland Productions). Reminiscences of the eighties and influences of the electro sounds imposed in Europe make up this album with which they start to get known in the underground circuits in the country.
After editing This is my... remixes (Greenland Productions), their first single remixed by Dj Coco & Bombjack, OBK or Spunky among others, the band decide to expose their second LP Wonderful Opulence (Greenland Productions), a more elaborate album with darker influences with which they even cross borders being played on MTV Italy and having very good reviews from specialized English websites like The Pansentient League or League-online or Belgian websites like Side Line, for example.


After traveling half of Spain with more than 50 concerts and performing at such prestigious festivals like FIB 2009, Eólica, Heineken Greenspace Valencia, Musiclip, Sonoric or T'ho Porto (Portugal), Oblique returns with Acapulco [Special Edition] (Greenland Productions), an EP that covers songs of their first album and that it has a great reception in digital sales from United Kingdom.


The influences of the band pass by groups such as:
Client, Ladytron, OMD, The Human League, Hot Chip, Cut Copy, White Lies, etc.


Already in 2009, Oblique records Without Making Noise (Greenland Productions) leaping into their sound to more personal formats where electronic dance and dark atmospheres are strongly present.
Without Making Noise opens to Oblique new ways like signing with EMI Publishing, including songs in films such as Sexy Killer (Miguel Marti) or the awarded Bon Appétit (David Pinillos) or being appointed by the specialized media (Mondo Sonoro, Go, Rock Deluxe...).


The Cathedral has been the last EP of the band and it has been released in digital format in late 2009. It consists of five personal and almost acoustic versions of tracks from previous albums.


Currently, Oblique is in the process of creating what will be his new album and video clip.


Awards received by Oblique:


- Prize for the best electronic band Pop-Eye Awards.
- Prize for the best electronic band Metro Journal.
- Prize for the best electronic band Heineken Kulture Movement.
- Audience Award for best video clip "My Medicine" Medina del Campo Film Festival.
- Audience Award for best video clip "My Medicine" Musiclip International Festival.
- Electronically Yours (UK) choose "All We Want" as the best electronic song in the TOP 20 2008.
- MTV 2010 Best Bet.

VIDEOKILLER - "Always the Sun" by The Stranglers

NEWS WAVE - RIP Greg Ham (Men at Work)

By Kristen Gelineau, The Associated Press
SYDNEY -- Greg Ham, a musician with the iconic Australian band Men at Work, was found dead in his Melbourne home on Thursday, Australian reports said.
Victoria state police confirmed that the deceased was the 58-year-old resident of the house but did not identify him by name, in keeping with local practice. Ham was 58 and neighbors said he was the lone occupant of the house.
Two concerned friends who had not heard from Ham in some time found the body after going to check on him, police said, declining to release any details on how Ham died or if the circumstances were suspicious.
"There are a number of unexplained aspects to it which has caused our attendance here today, and we're assisting the local detectives to determine what has occurred," Detective Senior Sergeant Shane O'Connell told reporters.
Newspapers including The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Ham had died.
Men at Work frontman Colin Hay issued a statement expressing a deep love for his longtime friend, whom he met in 1972 when they were seniors in high school. Hay recalled decades of shared experiences with Ham — from appearing on "Saturday Night Live," to flying through dust storms over the Grand Canyon, to getting lost in the rural Australian countryside.
"We played in a band and conquered the world together," Hay said. "I love him very much. He's a beautiful man. The saxophone solo on 'Who Can It Be Now' was the rehearsal take. We kept it, that was the one. He's here forever."
Ham was perhaps best known for playing the famous flute riff in the band's smash 1980s hit. But the beloved tune came under intense scrutiny in recent years after the band was accused of stealing the catchy riff from the children's campfire song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree." The publisher of "Kookaburra" sued Men at Work, and in 2010 a judge ruled the band had copied the melody. The group was ordered to hand over a portion of its royalties.
Ham later said the controversy had left him devastated, and he worried it would tarnish his legacy.
"It has destroyed so much of my song," he told Melbourne's The Age newspaper after the court ruling. "It will be the way the song is remembered, and I hate that. I'm terribly disappointed that that's the way I'm going to be remembered — for copying something."
On Thursday, neighbor John Nassar praised Ham, whom he had known for about 30 years.
"He was a lovely human being, never judgmental about anyone," Nassar told reporters. "He was a very friendly human being."
Ham also played the saxophone and keyboards, and more recently worked as a guitar teacher.
"Down Under" and the album it was on, "Business As Usual," topped the Australian, American and British charts in early 1983. The song remains an unofficial anthem for Australia and was ranked fourth in a 2001 music industry survey of the best Australian songs. Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
Australian rock historian Glenn Baker, who was Australian editor of Billboard magazine when Men At Work was at its peak touring the world, recalled Ham as bursting with energy during the band's glory days.
"When they came back (from tour), it was generally Greg who I would interview because he'd tell the best stories and he was effervescent, energetic, good fun, good-humored and good-natured," Baker said. "He was having a great time."

-- Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.

OFF THE RECORDS - Il "brillante" ritorno degli Ultravox!

(AGI) - Roma, 18 apr. - Emi e' orgogliosa di annunciare il grande ritorno degli Ultravox con il loro primo album di studio, "Brilliant", dopo 28 anni con la storica formazione che include Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross, Warren Cann. La stessa con cui pubblicarono "Lament" nel 1984. A seguito del successo del tour "Return To Eden" con cui nel 2009 la line-up classica della band si e' ripresentata dopo 25 anni sulle scene, Midge Ure e soci si sono ritrovati in studio e hanno registrato una serie di brani inediti, dodici canzoni in tutto, che fanno parte appunto dell'album "Brilliant" in uscita il 29 maggio, che sara' seguito poi da un fitto tour inglese nei mesi di settembre e ottobre. Drammatico, passionale ed epico sia nei testi che nei suoni, "Brilliant" non solo e' una testimonianza concreta di quanto grande sia questa band, ma rappresenta un ulteriore valore aggiunto per uno straordinario catalogo di musica che oggi suona piu' attuale e influente che mai. Emersi dalla scena punk, new wave ed elettronica dei tardi anni 70, gli Ultravox si sono inventati una forma straordinaria di musica rock elettronica dalla potenza unica che consegno' alla storia degli anni Ottanta grandissimi canzoni quali 'Hymn', 'Dancing With Tears In My Eyes', 'The Voice', 'Reap The Wild Wind', 'Love's Great Adventure', 'We Came To Dance', 'One Small Day' e naturalmente l'atmosferica e intramontabile 'Vienna'. "Brilliant" porta gli Ultravox ad ampliare il loro modello classico ricordandoci la loro forza come compositori di altissimo livello. Tutti i dettagli sul nuovo album verranno rivelati presto assieme alle date del tour che la band intraprendera' entro la fine dell'anno.

VIDEOKILLER - "Guilty" by Classic Nouveaux

NEWS WAVE - Devo Rememberin'

Early photo of DEVO in their classic yellow suits. Note the early belts made of thin tape. Used to promote their first album, "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!" - 1978.

LET'S TOUR - Simple Minds Somewhere in Summertime! New shows by Jim Kerr&Co.

Simple Minds are set to have a busy summer this year as the live dates continue to flood in! News of ticket pre-sales and a full list of confirmed dates are below.

Tickets for the following shows are about to go on sale. Please note that the Newcastle show will be similar to the recent 5x5 live shows and has a special ticket pre-sale for Members from 9.00am on Wed 28th March. This show will go on sale to the public on Friday so do get in there quickly as it may sell out fast.

8th July 2012 Sun, NEWCASTLE Academy, UK - 5x5 FULL SET - PRESALE TICKETS - Available from 9:00 (UK time) Wed 28th March

13th July 2012 Fri, SWEDEN Dalhalla nr BORLANGE - 5x5 FESTIVAL - Available from 09:00 (UK) Wed 28th March

26th July 2012 Thu, ITALY, MODENA, Piazza Grande - 5x5 + HITS - Available from 12:00 (Italian time) Thur 29th March

27th July 2012 Fri, ITALY, ROMA, Ippodromo Delle Capannelle - 5x5 + HITS - Available from 12:00 (Italian time) Thur 29th March

28th July 2012 Sat, ITALY, GRADO, Diga Nazario Sauro - 5x5 + HITS - Available from 12:00 (Italian time) Thur 29th March


All Shows Confirmed So Far

Here is a list of all confirmed Simple Minds dates so far this summer. More will follow. Click each link to see ticket details:

30th March 2012 Fri, Dognvill Festival, TROMSO, NO - 5x5 + HITS

23rd June 2012 Sat, Danube Island Festival, VIENNA, AUSTRIA, AT - 5x5 + HITS - FREE CONCERT!

29th June 2012 Fri, Main Square Festival, ARRAS, FR - 5x5 FESTIVAL

7th July 2012 Sat, T in the Park, Kinross, Scotland, UK - 5x5 FESTIVAL - SOLD OUT

8th July 2012 Sun, NEWCASTLE Academy, UK - 5x5 FULL SET - PRESALE TICKETS - Available from 9:00 (UK time) Wed 28th March

13th July 2012 Fri, SWEDEN Dalhalla nr BORLANGE - 5x5 FESTIVAL

11th July 2012 Thu, Train, AARHUS, DENMARK, DK - 5x5 FULL SET

15th July 2012 Sun, Latitude Festival, Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, England, UK - 5x5 FESTIVAL

26th July 2012 Thu, ITALY, MODENA, Piazza Grande - 5x5 + HITS - Available from 12:00 (Italian time) Thur 29th March

27th July 2012 Fri, ITALY, ROMA, Ippodromo Delle Capannelle - 5x5 + HITS - Available from 12:00 (Italian time) Thur 29th March

28th July 2012 Sat, ITALY, GRADO, Diga Nazario Sauro - 5x5 + HITS - Available from 12:00 (Italian time) Thur 29th March

17th August 2012 Fri, Stadtpark, HAMBURG, GERMANY, DE - 5x5 FESTIVAL

19th August 2012 Sun, E-Werk, KOLN, GERMANY, DE - 5x5 FULL SET

21st August 2012 Tue, Tonahalle, MUNICH, GERMANY, DE - 5x5 FULL SET

22nd August 2012 Wed, Amphitheater, HANAU, GERMANY, DE - 5x5 FESTIVAL

23rd August 2012 Thu, Schlachthof, DRESDEN, GERMANY, DE - 5x5 FULL SET

25th August 2012 Sat, Brabant Open Air Festival, Eindhoven, Netherlands, NL - 5x5 FESTIVAL

VIDEOKILLER - "Girls on film" by Duran Duran (Uncensored version)

VIDEOKILLER - Duran revisited! "Ghosts on Film" by Deadmau5