Top 9 Pop Stories for July 09

Eddie Van Halen Undergoes Surgery

MusicRadar reports: Eddie Van Halen is recovering from hand surgery that was deemed necessary to alleviate increasing pain in his left hand. According to Rolling Stone, the guitarist says he began to experience pain in his thumb and pinky during the last portion of Van Halen's 2007-2008 tour.

"It got progressively worse to the point that about three months ago I wasn't able to play at all," says Van Halen. "My pinky and my thumb were totally locked up and felt like there was something broken."

Although specialists in Germany initially treated Van Halen for arthritis, they soon found the real problems: a bone spur, twisted tendon and a cyst in the joint of his left thumb. - more on this story

Another Aerosmith Injury

antiMusic reports: Tom Hamilton has become the third member of Aerosmith to be sidelined by health issues since the group kicked off their tour with ZZ top last month.

Several dates on the tour have been postponed after frontman Steven Tyler tore a muscle in his leg. Guitarist Brad Whitford sat out the initial dates on the tour after undergoing emergency surgery because he reportedly hit his head getting out of his Ferrari. Sccording to a press release, Whitford is expected to return to the stage when the band resumes the tour on Wednesday night. But now it's bass player Tom Hamilton's turn to call in sick.

Here is the official word from the Aerosmith camp: Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton will be sitting out some dates of the Aerosmith tour dates with special guests ZZ Top as he recuperates from non-invasive surgery. - more on this story

AC/DC Frontman Eying Retirement

Nightwatcher reports: AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson is considering retirement - because, at 61, he fears he's getting too old to rock. The band's long time vocalist has revealed he planned to quit as the Aussie rockers' singer in 2010 - 30 years after he replaced Bon Scott in the group - but his bandmates have persuaded him to rock on for another nine months, to fulfill festival commitments into 2011.

Johnson tells Classic Rock magazine, "We were talking about the end of the (current Black Ice) tour and I said, 'We're finishing in May (10) - and that's me done!'

"But Malcolm (Young) said, 'What are you talk in' about? We're not gonna let you retire!'" Johnson admits he does his best to stay in shape for tours, but he's not sure he's got what it takes to carry on. - more on this story

Bret Michaels Tour Bus Crash

BW&BK reports: Poison frontman Bret Michaels' website has been updated with the following: As Bret Michaels traveled to St. Paul, MN following Poison's July 4th performance at Molson Amphitheater in Toronto, Ontario his bus was involved in a multi-vehicle accident on the Canadian side of the border.

Police reports indicate a car lost control and slid into the side of Mr. Michaels's tour bus causing a five car pile-up on the roadway. There was damage to all vehicles involved, but no serious injuries were reported.

Michaels and his immediate crew were released from the scene following an investigation. - more on this story

Chickenfoot Member Seriously Injured

Chickenfoot, the new supergroup featuring Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Joe Satriani, were forced to cancel Wednesday night's concert after one of the member of group suffered a serious injury on stage during Monday night's concert in Paris.

Here is the statement the band issued: "We are sorry to inform our Spanish fans that Chickenfoot cannot perform tomorrow night in Madrid due to a serious injury to drummer Chad Smith. "

"Chad was performing on stage last night in Paris and during the show he hurt his right arm badly. He has torn his small bicep and cannot play the show Wednesday, July 1st. The band is very sorry they cannot play for their Spanish fans this week and plan to return as soon as possible. - more on this story

Led Zeppelin Reunion Rumored

Nightwatcher reports: Seeing as it's from the UK's paragon of reliability The Sun, you might want to take this with a grain of salt, but they are reporting that music bosses hope Led Zeppelin will play some of Michael Jackson's O2 arena gigs.

AEG Live, the team behind the King of Pop's 50-night stint, want the rock supergroup to alternate shows with Abba. [Abba has already denied reports of a reunion] Both bands - who have sold 600 million albums between them - have been offered big money to reform.

Led Zep stars Jimmy Page, 65, Robert Plant, 60, and bassist John Paul Jones, 63, have been approached. They played their only concert in 19 years at the O2 in 2007 and are seen as one of the few acts who could rival Jacko. His This Is It tour was due to start at the London venue on July 13 - more on this story

Guns N' Roses Leaker Vs Slash

Blabbermouth reports: The Los Angeles man who was sentenced to a year of probation (including two months of modified house arrest) for uploading pre-release Guns N' Roses tracks told MTV News that he was offended by the comments former GN'R guitarist Slash made about him.

"A friend of mine conducted an interview with Slash last year in which he called me a thief and wished that I 'rot in jail,'" Kevin Cogill said. "I found that surprisingly crass, especially considering the guy has made no bones about shoplifting cassette tapes with the same rationale as today's downloaders. So if he wants to see me in jail, I'll see him in the cafeteria."

Cogill told MTV News that he carries a great deal of remorse for what he did, though he never intended any harm to Axl Rose — he was just a fan who was excited about a band he loved. "I've come to respect the artists' right to determine how their art is released," he said. "I do apologize to Axl for that disrespect. As a fan who had lost faith in all of the promises of release, I didn't see too many other options at the time. But in a fair world, it's not my place to judge, let alone act." - more on this story

Machine Head Guitarist Collapses On Stage

Sonisphere festival reports: Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel is fine after dramatically collapsing on stage during the finale (of the Sonisphere festival in Pori, Finland) to an electric-stomping set that had the crowd so pumped up they were running at each other in a 'wall of death' and charging around in manic circles.

Although he had to be helped off stage, he exclusively told Team Sonisphere that he is now feeling okay.

"Basically I want to apologies to all the fans for cheating them of their last song," he said. After breaking the news on Twitter, Team Sonisphere was inundated with messages from worried fans. - more on this story

Ozzy Splits With Zakk Wylde

Rock Radio reports: Ozzy Osbourne has told Classic Rock Magazine that his new home studio has given him a new lease of life. And he's thinking about a new name to go with it. He tells Editor in Chief Scott Rowley: "It's great to have your own studio. I'm just enjoying my life now. I've got a new album and I'm working on it as we speak.

"Zakk Wylde came down and did a bunch of stuff - I don't know if I want to use it but I've got it there if I do. I haven't fallen out with him, but he's got his own band I felt my stuff was beginning to sound like Black Label Society. I just felt like I wanted a change.

"I'm getting a new guitar player. I tried John 5 at one time and I didn't really give him a chance. And I've got a guy from Greece coming in." - more on this story

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