Top 9 Pop Stories for Oct 09

Guns N' Roses Accused of Song Theft

Guns N' Roses are being sued for $1 million dollars by two indie labels who claim that the Axl Rose led group used portions of two songs by one of their artists on a "Chinese Democracy" track.

Reuters reports: Guns N' Roses and Universal Music Group's Interscope-Geffen A&M label were sued by British label Independiente and the U.S. arm of Domino Recording Company, who own the licensing rights to songs by German electronic musician Ulrich Schnauss.

The lawsuit alleges that Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses band members and album producers copied portions of two of Schnauss' songs for the song "Riad N' the Bedouins" off of "Chinese Democracy" - The follow up with the band's response is here

Alice in Chains Starr Drug Bust

Former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr isn't having a very good week. For one thing his former band has regrouped and just released a critically acclaimed comeback album without him and now we learn that he was reportedly arrested in Los Angeles last week on a drug charge. It sounds like a good thing he'll be part of the next Celebrity Rehab.

Blabbermouth reported over the weekend: Starr is currently being held at the Bauchet Street Jail in downtown L.A.. His bail is set at $100,000 and he is due for arraignment at the Pasadena Superior court on October 14.

Earlier this year, Starr was selected as a cast member for the third season of the VH1 reality series "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew". Hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky, the season will consist of eight episodes that follow the real-life experiences of celebrity patients undergoing detoxification and treatment at the Pasadena Recovery Center. - more on this story

Led Zeppelin Reunion Rumor

There is another Led Zeppelin reunion rumor. This one is based on a lot of speculation but their 2007 reunion came to pass after similar speculation. While we don't put much faith in the current speculation because Robert Plant making plans doesn't equal Led Zeppelin making plans, especially when you consider John Paul Jones involvement in Them Crooked Vultures, we are running this report just in case there is a slimmer of truth in it BUT we advise you to read with very skeptical eyes while you hope for the best.

SleazeRoxx reports: Led Zeppelin fans' dreams of seeing the rock supergroup back onstage together have been given a boost by confirmation frontman Robert Plant is considering a slot at next year's Glastonbury festival in England.

Plant could be considering another one-off at Glastonbury, after confirming he has had talks with festival boss Michael Eavis. He tells the BBC, "There's place for me there, but I have no idea who with." - more on this story

AC/DC Singer Addresses Health Issue

We told you last Friday that AC/DC were forced to postpone several dates on their current world tour because frontman Brian Johnson "recently underwent a medical procedure and at the advice of his doctor is taking some time to rest." Some rumors floating around speculated that he was having throat problems but on Wednesday the man himself posted an update on the official AC/DC website to fill fans in on what is going on.

Here is what he had to say: "It's an inside job that forced me to reschedule those upcoming 6 shows! Inside being the operative word here. My insides were giving me lots of trouble, ulcers and such. They were really uncomfortable and painful, which required me to seek immediate medical attention.

"The doctor's looked me over, poked, scanned and prodded all possible areas. In the end they gave me a clean bill of health, but insisted that I take a bit of time to recuperate and rest up. We've been touring non stop since this time last year and have a lot more touring to do. Thanks for all of the get well wishes and I hope to see you all again very soon." -

Suicide By Tour Bus

antiMusic reports: We told you on Friday that two members of Opeth were involved in an accident while traveling on their tour bus. It has now come to light that the other motorist died and that was apparently intentional.

Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt issued two updates on his Myspace page on Friday detailing these developments. Here they are some highlights: I just got a text from Mendez who saying that the driver of the other car (who made the U-turn) that our bus crashed into, sadly passed away from his injuries. On top of that it seems as if it was a deliberate death-stunt from his side as the police had found a suicide-letter in the car-wreck.

EDIT/UPDATE: OK, we're back out on tour now, just came into the venue in Brussels. Everyone's alright, but I can see that they're shaken. Apparently it was a clear suicide attempt as the car had not made a U-turn but was actually standing sideways covering one complete lane. As our busdrivers changed lane, the car backed and covered that one instead, and obviously by then, at approximately 80 km/h, it was all over. Our bus crashed into the driver side of the car and the guy, who was 35 years old pretty much died then and there. The paramedics apparently saw signs of life but he died soon after the initial impact. They had found something in his cellphone, some type of message, but we don't know what it said obviously. - more on this story

Morrissey Hospitalized After Collapsing On Stage

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey was hospitalized overnight after collapsing on stage during a concert in Swindon, England on Saturday night.

The reason for the collapse has not been disclosed but Morrissey was released from the hospital on Sunday. A spokeswoman for the Great Western Hospital in the English city of Swindon told the Associated Press that was "much improved."

A message on his website simply says: Morrissey is in stable condition after his collapse in Swindon Saturday night. Thanks go out to all his well wishers, more information will be posted as soon as it is available. -

Aerosmith Vs Steven Tyler?

antiMusic reports: Aerosmith's Joe Perry is doing a lot of interviews to promote his new solo album, "Have Guitar, Will Travel", which hit stores on October 6 but it seems an equal amount of time is being spent discussing what went wrong with Aerosmith after they were forced to abruptly cancel their summer tour with ZZ Top after the tour itself got off to a rocky start due to various health issues.

During an interview with Billboard, Perry wasn't shy about his disappointment with current events in the Aerosmith camp and while he didn't name frontman Steven Tyler directly, fans can read between the lines and come up with Tyler's name in light of some other recent statements made by Perry.

Now Perry tells Billboard, "The thing that bothers me the most is how it affects the fans. The only reason you're there is because of the fans. You owe them a lot, and when you start taking them for granted, it's just wrong. I think that a lot of what happened with Aerosmith over the last two or three years has been a case of that. And I'm not talking about everybody in the band. I think at this point the four band members are willing to not play for a while until the fifth member gets together and decides to come and join us again." - more on this story

Evile Member Dies While on Tour

Band Statement reports: Sadly, just a few days into their European tour with Amon Amarth, Evile's Mike Alexander was suddenly taken ill and rushed to hospital, but tragically passed away in Lulea, Sweden on Monday. No cause of death was mentioned in the band's statement but Evile members Matt Drake, Ol Drake and Ben Carter have released the following statement:

This is so hard to find the words to express fully how we feel. We can't believe or accept what's happened. One minute we're talking to our buddy, Mike, the next minute we can never speak to him again.

There's so many things rushing through our heads that we want to say, do and feel. We half expect him to come round the corner and call us 'dickheads'. We can't get our heads around it.

It upsets us so much that he was away from his family when this happened, although knowing Mike, we're at least glad he was on tour doing what he loves. We're lost for words. We all miss him so much already. He was such a headstrong, genuinely nice guy who loved music and his family. We've got so many brilliant memories with him - more on this story

Former INXS Singer Hospitalized For Heart Surgery Complications

beatcrave.com reports: Jon Stevens, former singer of INXS and Noiseworks is being held at a hospital after suffering complications following emergency open-heart surgery, according to his management company.

The Australian rocker's manager Simon Lucas said the operation was carried out in a Sydney hospital about three weeks ago and was deemed a success, or at least that's what they thought.

Unfortunately, 46-year-old Stevens' condition has deteriorated and his recovery has been hampered due to some post-operative complications, primarily fluid around the heart and infection. The singer was taken to the hospital after doctors reportedly found a blockage in one of the main arteries during a routine check-up - more on this story

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