ACCIDENT PRONE DUB PISTOLS' BARRY ASHWORTH BARES HIS BUM FOR THE STUDENTS AND STEERS CLEAR OF BLUE SMARTIES

WHEREVER Dub Pistols' founder Barry Ashworth is, natural – and less natural - disasters seem to follow.
He played the World Trade Centre the day before the Twin towers were blown up, he was Djing at the Lock Tavern the night Camden Market went up in flames and he's recovering from breaking his foot after tripping on a giant concrete toad.


But the most embarrassing of his performing tales came when the band played for 1,600 students at a foam party in Inverness.
Barry said: “I jumped down off the stage into the crowd to sort of fire it up a bit. I slipped on the foam and knocked myself out cold under the suds. The security guy tried to grab me, threw me back on stage but they had hold of my trousers which fell down. I ended up laying there on hands and knees out cold with my bum sticking in the
air in front of the students.”
A story like this is nothing to Barry, who talks at 100 miles an hour and seems to relish the stories his life creates.
He said: “Natural disasters tend to follow me everywhere I go. I was in the Lock Tavern when Camden Market burned down. I was DJing, not quite believing what's going on, standing there thinking you're in the WWII blitz. It looked like the Great Fire of London. Standing on the top there, it was a pretty impressive sight.”
The band are mid-tour, Barry's about to board a plane back from Switzerland and he's weary of travelling.
He said: “Flying's the easy part, but I hate going to the airports and standing in a queue for hours because that's boring. Specially when you're doing places like America, one way to each city and you get searched so many times and so much grief. That's the worst part of the whole job - specially being in a band - they're always looking for drugs and it's always a worry that you never know what you've got where.”
The Dub Pistols play Koko with Nightmares on Wax and Trojan Soundsystem on Easter Sunday (April 4) and are promoting their fourth album Rum and Coke, named after their heady experiences recording in Barbados.


Barry said: “We've been headlining a festival out there for the last two years. Because of the cheap rum and coke we got ourselves in a lot of trouble so it's why the album's named after it. The rum and coke and sun just send you absolutely bonkers, some of the band had to be locked up in the house and not allowed out.
That's where the (Happy) Mondays fell apart - they sent them over to record the last album and that's where it all fell apart.”
They've recently released single Ganja, so named so as to avoid radio play – apparently.
Barry said: “People are saying why did you put out a song called Ganja? It was so we didn't have to put a soft pop song. Most of our recent stuff has been radio friendly songs and we knew a song called Ganja wasn't going to be radio friendly. We wanted to do a more viral thing. We've always been an underground band. We just wanted to take
it back underground for a bit.”
Ever the rule-breakers, he said the Pistols are not averse to a bit of backstage mischief: “On the NME nights, we'd break in backstage when a band's performing and steal all their riders, we'd take everything, clear the whole fridge out - Jack Daniels, vodka, champagne, wine.”
As for their own rider? “We ask for as much as we can possibly get away with, JD, vodka, Bacardi, Guinness, 48 beers, that'd be our standard rider. We don't ask for blue Smarties.”

DOWN WITH THIS SORT OF THING - FEELING GLOOMY SAY SAVE BBC 6 MUSIC + BEAUTIFUL SOUTH'S PAUL HEATON'S BEER AND BIKE MISSION

I’VE recently discovered our favourite misery night Feeling Gloomy at the 02 Academy Islington has succeeded in spreading its depression across the Atlantic – they’ve taken up a monthly residency in Fontana's New York – good for them.
And the gloom peddlers have also taken an ad out in The Big Issue, just to remind people to save BBC 6 Music from closure – they're not all about the bad stuff.


- On the same note, hundreds of protesters, musicians and DJs turned out at the weekend demo outside the BBC's Broadcasting House against the proposed closure of 6 Music and the Asia Network.
Favourite protest was the nod to Father Ted, with a bunch of people holding up the phrase “Down with this sort of thing”.

- Electronic pioneer Gary Numan’s playing a rare live show for The Playground at Scala (April 13) ahead of his appearance at Coachella in California, I know where I prefer to be.

- Remember Diana Vickers? She was the wide-eyed, slightly strangled-voiced one off X-Factor. See how she turned out at Scala (May 12).

- Ex Housemartin and Beautiful South frontman Paul Heaton’s joined the cycling hordes. He’s cycling 1,000 miles around England to play local pubs. He stops off at The Monarch, Camden, (May 13). Fans are invited to join him on the trip. It's like Eddie Izzard's Marathon Man, with beer instead of ice-cream.

- We've had The Priests and The Soldiers so what's the next trade the record industry can exploit for their quaint-ness? That's right it's the Cornish Fishermen!
Universal music has signed up 10 Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends for an album of seafaring shanties. Something for Father's day perhaps? Whenever that is.

THE CAMDEN CRAWL - HOW ARE THEY COPING AND WHY THE SUGABABES??

THE Post-its are flying all over the place and staff at the Camden Crawl HQ are slowly being buried under a pile of CDs.

We’re only weeks away from one of the biggest events in the music calendar (May 1 and 2) – and with the ever-expanding daytime programme, it’s beginning to give the Edinburgh Festival some serious competition.

There’s the big names: LostProphets, We Are Scientists, Calvin Harris and The Drums. The oldies: Teenage Fanclub, Babybird and Cornershop. The dubious pop choice: Sugababes. The cool- as-ice Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, The Delays, New Young Pony Club and the most important to me, Camden’s home-grown talent – Akala, Ms Dynamite and Man Like Me.


(Teenage Fanclub, who play this year's Camden Crawl)

The day starts early with impromptu gigs, theatre shows, countless quizzes to tax even the brainiest muso, mind-bending spoken word performances and real comedy from real comedians. On top of all this there’s a series of free events for residents with a street party in Hawley Crescent, and free gigs at the Hawley Arms and the Primrose Chill. There’s also a programme of free live music in four pubs: The Queens, The Lansdowne, The Engineer and the Princess of Wales.

But right now organisers are preoccupied with the Emerging Talent Awards (ETA). And they’ve had a huge task to whittle down 1,000 hopefuls with stars in their eyes to just 45. And now the work begins, picking the eight best bands to play the ETA stage at the Ice Wharf.

Event organiser Chris Jakubiak said: “If the weather’s good we’ll have the doors open. The standard’s been really high, much higher than we’ve anticipated. The prizes are amazing.”

The finalists will be announced on April 12.

Barring Madness’s takeover of Inverness Street last year, this will be the first time the Crawl’s put on an official street party.

Chris said: “There’ll be a road closure in Hawley Crescent, from Kentish Town to Stuckley Place. We’re putting a Red Bull stage at the Kentish Town Road end and the space on the street is licensed to hold 2,000 people. That part of the event is 14-plus and accessible to Crawl wristband holders and also a few local residents will be invited. We’re going to look after everyone.”

So why did they book the Sugababes for the Crawl?

Chris said: “What’s a typical Camden Crawl band? It’s about diversity. They’ve got new material, a new line-up, the show will be very interesting. Very special guests will be announced next month."

Each year there’s the odd surprise gig – last year Graham Coxon played The Spread Eagle and Chris hints there could be more to come: “I’m almost certain that there’ll be something like that, but we never know until close to the time.”

But right now, the Crawl staff are busy turning the cogs.
Chris said: "I’m covered in Post-it notes and I’ve got stacks of CDs I’m
listening to. We’re working late into the night but it’s always an
enjoyable experience."

CAMDEN CRAWL NEWS - SHIV LIZZY. THE JUDE AND ANONYMOUS!

TRAGIC news that Shiv Lizzy, one of the 45 shortlisted acts in the Camden Crawl Emerging Talent Awards (ETA) has been killed in a road accident. I’ve heard Crawl organisers want to keep her music in the competition anyway and let it be judged on its merit. From what I’m hearing, she was a strong contender.

• Thanks to the anonymous reader who set me straight on the qualities of Crawl headliners LostProphets and We Are Scientists. Without your stern words I may have had to think for myself.

• Great news for Irish band The Jude, who played The Dublin Castle’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations last week. They’ve been chosen to play industry-acclaimed City Showcase 2010 and have made it to the Camden Crawl’s ETAs shortlist – vote for them at www.emergingtalentawards.com/vote/band/the-jude

• Acclaimed author of The Looked After Kid, Paolo Hewitt, is DJing at a special charity night at the Lexington (March 30). Leddra Chapman, who’s still at uni, songwriter Georgia Strand and Liverpool band The Branco Heist are all on the bill. It’s in aid of the Willow Foundation, which organises special days for seriously ill people.

INFADELS DO THE HUMAN LEAGUE

SOMETHING unique is about to happen in Camden.
After locking themselves away in a studio in a secret location for a week, Shy Child, Infadels, Zoot Woman, The Shortwave Set and Kids on Bridges will emerge with a reworking of The Human League’s defining album Dare.
And the intriguing results – the latest in the Jack Daniel’s JD Set series of historic musical collaborations – can be seen live at Dingwalls on May 5.


It’s a prospect Infadels’ Matt Gooderson can’t wait for. He said: “We’re going to one of my favourite venues. I saw a great band there in the 90s and wanted to play it ever since. We’re doing covers from one of the greatest electronic albums ever made.”

Coincidentally, well before JD stepped in, the band decided to emulate the sounds of The Human League when they moved away from indie and work on a much more electronic sound for their third album, out later this year.

Matt refused to pick up a guitar this time, instead playing keyboards.

He said: “I’ve a little folder on iTunes called, ‘what I want our music to sound like’, and in that there’s three Human League songs. It’s strange how it’s all fallen into place.

“I’m the most excited I’ve ever been covering a band. For the first time ever we’re covering songs in the way we put them together, because we write electronically. Something like Supergrass is more blues inspired. When you try to put blues and electronica together it doesn’t work very well. Moby just managed to pull it off with Play. It’s going to be a dream to cover something with that same sense of the band.”

The groups won’t be battling over songs, he said, adding: “We’ve already had the fight and I’m really happy because we got The Things That Dreams Are Made Of, one of my favourite. I really didn’t want Don’t You Want Me Baby. I thought we’d sound dangerously like a wedding band. Although it’s an absolutely cracking pop song I don’t associate it with The Human League in the way that they were a lot more avant garde. We went for quite obscure ones and won. It’s going to be certainly the most alternative and dangerous thing we’ve ever done.”

Matt has recently returned from Australia, where he went to recover from “creative burnout”.

“I’d been working on the album intensively for a long time and I just felt I couldn’t continue with anything anymore so I disappeared for a while on my own,” he said.

“I kind of wigged out. I decided in the jungle there was no way I was going to carry a mobile phone anymore so I cancelled it and was planning on never having it again only to return to London and find life incredibly difficult without one. I lasted about a month.

“I spent a lot of time admiring how different the plants and trees are and how dangerous everything is – basically everything in Australia bites you. It did me really good. Everyone in England should go on a national holiday for six weeks in mid-winter when it’s boiling hot in Australia – it means you can absolutely survive the intolerable cold here.”

Matt confessed that although he’s officially the band’s guitarist, he couldn’t play guitar before they formed: “I’m actually a keyboard player by trade – the guitar was actually a venture into the unknown when we started the band. I couldn’t play the guitar when we started.”

Looking back on the band’s inception in 2003, he said: “It sounds funny now because a lot of people have gone in the same direction, but at the time we really wanted to do something different, reinvent what people thought of the band. It came about because we felt people needed live music back in clubs. We were dominated by Coldplay, Travis and Stereophonics, so we got the Infadels together so people could dance – as well as every other band on the planet it seems, but music’s the better for it.

“When we first arrived as an electro-indie band we were laughed at and a source of much amusement. People asked, ‘why would you want to reinvent dance rock?’ I have to safely say we were right and everyone who said that was completely wrong because it has been the most interesting and progressive musical genre of the last decade.

“Now it’s completely common to see a band with no drummers, two singers banging away on tom toms and a keyboard player, and guitarist and that’s the norm and that’s fantastic.”

FOOTBALL DJS, LOS MONDO BONGO AND SUEDE

Here’s an odd one – former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland international footballer Pat Nevin is guest DJ at King’s Cross Social Club tomorrow (March 19). His music credentials are plenty: a former mate of John Peel, he plays in the same 5-a-side team as Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch and singer Gordon McIntyre. Expect indie pop, post-punk, and much more. And it’s free.

• Here’s one for the musos out there. Can you name the players in Los Mondo Bongo, who play the Purple Turtle on Sunday (March 21)? Bonus point for their pedigree. Answer: Mike Peters from The Alarm on lead, Pablo Cook and Smiley of the legendary Joe Strummer’s “Mescaleros”, Derek Forbes of Simple Minds, and Steve Harris. DJ set from Ray Gange, star of the Clash film Rude Boy. It’s a celebration of Strummer so don’t be too late.

• Remember Suede? They’re back – well Brett Anderson and band, don’t expect to see Bernard Butler – and are playing an exclusive show at the 100 Club on March 20 to warm up for their Teenage Cancer Trust gig at the Royal Albert Hall four days later.

• Wild Palms have covered Bjork’s Human Behaviour on the B-side to single Deep Dive out on April 19. Wonder if they’ll test it out during their Camden Crawl show. They also play Relentless Garage on March 24.

• White Mischief is celebrating its third birthday at Scala on March 27. Visit www.whitemischief.info

LETHAL BIZZLE V N-DUBZ - WILL IT EVER END?

The plot thickens...and the row over who came up with the hook to I Need You continues.
You need the background? Read previous posts here - but don't forget to come back for the latest chapter.
N-Dubz v Lethal Bizzle, Is Row Over I Need You Hook For Real?
N-Dubz v Lethal Bizzle Rights Row Descends Into Batt;e Of The Cribs - Plus Bizzle's Broken Mobo
Lethal Bizzle Gagged But N-Dubz Take Note, He Don't Hold Grudges

I reported yesterday how Lethal Bizzle's hilarious response video to N-Dubz' claimed "proof" that they were the first to come up with the hook was removed from YouTube.
Not one to be beaten, the resourceful Lethal B sent a twitter message to all his followers including a link to the banned footage.
So I'm happy to announce we have a copy - sadly it won't upload here - so instead here's the link to download it yourself.
If you can work out how to upload it, let me know.
Click here and enjoy!

LETHAL BIZZLE GAGGED - BUT N-DUBZ TAKE NOTE, HE DON'T HOLD GRUDGES!

LETHAL Bizzle has been forced to take down his video response to N-Dubz in the row over who came up with the original hook to "I Need You".
The gagged rapper may have been annoyed but he didn't show it last night when he told his twitter followers who appeared to have come up with a mafia-style solution: "Wow! Listen! This ndubz situation is over! Why are people sending me their home addresses lolololololol I'm not 50cent, I'm not that cold."
Perhaps we're on the verge of a fragile peace...or has Lethal B's lawyer just delivered some good news?
Up till now, the Camden trio and Lethal B have been airing their boxfresh laundry in public over twitter and via shaky mobile phone footage on YouTube.
Both sides had the chance to have their say, with the row degenerating into a battle over who's got the best crib. (See previous post)
But sadly the greatest clip - Bizzle's hilarious response, in which the sleighted rapper boasts of his fame, his fortune and his broken Mobo award - has been taken down.
In Bizzle's own words: "So now N DUBZ has got their label to remove my response video! Hmmmm I wonder why? Lololololol BAIT CATS! P.S its too late lolol."
A real loss.
I only hope someone out there has a copy they can send me, it should be treasured.

KEVIN COSTNER'S A COUNTRY SINGER?

WHEN the daily delivery of review CDs arrived today I expected the usual collection of electro/indie/rock with the odd Sugababes/Jonas Brothers disc thrown in.
Instead who should crawl out of the envelope but none other than Robin Hood Prince of Thieves himself - Kevin Costner.
Apparently I'm the last to hear old Bodyguard plays in a band - Kevin Costner & Modern West - who are about to release second album Turn It On (May 3).
Single Let Me Be The One is a simple duet with Nashville songwriter Sara Beck (see below).



But a deeper YouTube search reveals Backyard - a tribute to the Nascar scene from 2008 - and much more enjoyable vision of Costner at his country finest (see clip below).



FYI The Kevin Costner Appreciation Society on Facebook's got seven members. However I seem to remember the Ellesmere Port branch being particularly full - they'd pack out the nearby cinema to share his screenings.
I'm pretty sure Costner even dropped in to see them once - possibly the Port's most famous ever visitor. I've got vague recollections of seeing the pics that prove it too.

N-DUBZ v LETHAL BIZZLE - RIGHTS ROW DESCENDS INTO BATTLE OF THE CRIBS - PLUS BIZZLE'S BROKEN MOBO

IS this the UK's version of the East coast/West coast divide?
Thanks to the advent of the dodgy mobile phone vid British rappers can settle their fights in public on Youtube - safer than a drive-by I suppose.

Four days ago N-Dubs' Fazer and Dappy posted their "proof" that they didn't steal the hook for I Need You from Lethal Bizzle, as previously written in this blog (see here)

In the middle of it all, Fazer's film pans round to show off his crib.
Now Lethal B's posted his response on YouTube, but better still is his fightback over who's got the best "yard". Look out for the broken Mobo.
Still can't work out if the whole thing's a wind-up though - it's all relatively polite.



and more...

THE HUMBLE LIFE OF SCROOBIUS PIP

SCROOBIUS Pip is a humble man. He may have a book and a single out, an album on the way and be about to head out on tour, but for a poet he’s strangely reluctant to be published.
His book Poetry in (e)motion, on sale now, isn’t a typical book of verse, it’s a compilation of poems, old and new, in the style of a graphic novel illustrated by fans.


“People were asking me if I wanted to release a book of poetry,” Pip said. “I felt that would be something of an arrogant act because growing up I didn’t read any poetry. I love to watch poetry performed but still don’t read that much so it would have felt arrogant to say I don’t read poetry but you can all read mine.

“That’s why I came up with the concept of making the graphic novel – it is poems illustrated but you can read it without realising it’s a book of poetry. When you do realise it you can see poetry isn’t all boring and dusty and old and a chore to get through.”

Pip is one half of Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, who play this year’s Camden Crawl (May 1 and 2) and Koko on March 23.

He compiled the book’s artwork through a call to fans on Myspace.

“I put out a bulletin two and a half years ago,” said Pip. “All artwork submitted was amazing, such a high standard. It’s become an amazing collection of art. It’s completely fan-made and that was one of the best bits.

“[The publishers] were concerned the standard could be low so they were lining up artists that could step in to bring the standard up. I took the collection along and it was clear they didn’t need anyone else. That was a really proud moment.”

Pip and le Sac, who first met working at a HMV store in Essex and are now signed to Bestival curator Rob da Bank’s Sunday Best label, are touring to promote new album The Logic of Chance, which is out on Monday.

It is described as a collection of beat-led polemics, against a hip-hop backdrop, although Pip relishes the fact that they can’t truly be pigeonholed.

“I’m most looking forward to playing songs off our new album,” he said. “We’ve not changed our sound or decided to go for a specific sound. One of the things I’m proud of the last album for is no one’s really known what genre to put it in or where to place it and this is a development of that. It continues not to fit in any one genre but feels as if we both developed our skills.

“We’ve lucked out from having such variation. Part of us not fitting into one genre is we’ve got to play to poetry type audiences, to hip-hop, to indie, then at 4am in Fabric. But, yeah, a room full of librarians is one strange one.

“It’s great we do live tours now because we get to bring all these people together – we look into the crowd and see real metallers and punks along with hip-hop kids and indie kids and we have a hell of a lot of parent and child combinations coming which is amazing. When I was growing up there was never a band that I was into that my dad or mum was.”

Pip and le Sac are playing the Camden Crawl for the third time in a row this year.

Recalling their first experience, Pip said: “It was one of the first times we were taken aback a bit and realised it was all beginning to work. It was just before our record came out and we had queues all the way down the street – we’d never had that before.”

Aside from playing, they also had time to catch Amy Winehouse at the Dublin Castle.

Pip said: “I was equally excited about the fact that Amy Winehouse was performing really well in a small venue and Ross from Friends was standing next to me. I remember being in the Camden New Journal. We were having a picture taken and then some drunk jumped in to get in the picture and it wasn’t until I looked down that I realised that drunk was the legendary Suggs.”

The strangest gig they have done, he said, was during a tour of libraries: “They really do it well but the first one we got... was a load of old ladies at the back providing tea and orange squash and biscuits...they didn’t have a backstage so we had to come to the stage from behind a bookstand, it was a bit surreal.”

Pip’s an over-eager user of Twitter, through which he struck up a friendship with actor Nick Frost, who has written the foreword to his book.

He said: “I love Twitter – I joined it because I was doing a spoken word night I’d only really promoted on MySpace and about a week before I suddenly had this huge paranoia that MySpace is dead and I need to join the new thing. Through (Twitter) I’ve managed to meet Nick Frost, Simon Pegg and Marcus Brigstocke and found out that they’re fans of our music.

“I sent [Frost] a direct message asking if he’d do the foreword. It was actually four messages because you can only have 140 characters. It was this big long rambly thing and I got a message back saying, ‘Pip you had me at please’.

“We kind of chat now to Frost and Pegg and I’ve been a fan of both for a while, but Nick in particular was the first one I’ve been chatting to on Twitter.

“When Shaun of the Dead came out I bought the limited edition. It came with a little comic book and they seem rooted in that kind of genre. In all their films and Spaced they’ve always shown a love of graphic novels. They’re from a comic book kind of scene so he seemed like the perfect person to ask to do something for it.”

CAMDEN CRAWL HEADLINERS LET FRINGE ACTS DAZZLE AND BBC 6MUSIC CAUSE REACHES CRISIS LEVELS

THE Camden Crawl has announced the rest of its line-up – bar one SECRET SPECIAL GUEST (in caps of course), and any surprise unannounced gigs on the day.

The big names expected for the Roundhouse have not materialised. Lostprophets and We Are Scientists are not, in my humble opinion, a patch on last year’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kasabian, Idlewild and The Maccabees. As for the ever-changing, ever-falling-out Sugababes, who knows if they’ll even still have their name by then, judging by pending legal action from past members.

Bravo to the organisers, though, for doubling up Roundhouse shows and selling tickets upfront rather than making people waste precious hours on the day having to queue.

But personally I’m glad the Roundhouse isn’t such a huge draw, it leaves more time to focus on the smaller bands, what the Crawl is all about – discovering lesser-known gems.

• Bands scrabbled together, an emergency press release was sent out, and hundreds scrawled their names on the petition. The threat to BBC 6Music has taken on international crisis proportions and, as is fitting of these causes, Proud Camden took out its contacts book and pulled in the big names on Wednesday to do its bit. The Maccabees, The Holloways, Kitty, Daisy and Lewis and Master Shortie were among those on the line-up. Let’s hope the BBC Trust was listening.

• Here’s one for all you dreamy types. The Dig’s Spring Equinox celebrations of bohemian deviance are at Passing Clouds, Dalston, on March 18, featuring live installations, poetry, an erotic life-drawing class and cult film screenings. Live bands include The Bridport Dagger, Life In Film, Ay Ducane and Cruella Ribbons.

LOWKEY - SOMETHING WONDERFUL - RECORD OF THE WEEK

LOWKEY'S mind never rests.
Keep an eye on what he's up to and you'll see - one day he's in Lebanon, the next leading a pro-Palestine rally in London.
He's a reader, thinker, writer and live, a skilled, quick-witted talent.
So this is a mellow change for him.
Against a hook from Paul Weller's You Do Something To Me, he's come up with a tribute to the women of the world.
It may not be as lyrically challenging as previous offerings, but instead, Lowkey manages to remain political while staying easy on the ear.
It's been available for download since March 1 and, if you can get over the fleeting oversincere R Kelly moments, it's a good listen.
Although I'm not sure the sample is actually Weller's voice, sounds a little high. Can anyone shed some light on this?

N-DUBZ v LETHAL BIZZLE - IS ROW OVER I NEED YOU HOOK FOR REAL?

Woah what's happening here?
The twitter row over who first came up with the hook for "I Need You" has prompted N-Dubz' Dappy and Fazer to post "proof" on YouTube.
It all started last week suggestions Lethal Bizzle had some legal beef with N-Dubz.
Tulisa hit back, claiming Lethal B emailed them a similar hook to that on "I Need You" but only after the band had cut their own record.
Now the row's moved over to YouTube and Fazer's looking pretty angry.
He wants to put a stop to any suggestion the Camden trio nicked the hook from Lethal B and is out to prove otherwise.
Fazer's posted a YouTube video - see below - looks like it's been filmed on his mobile phone - telling Bizzle: "Stop talking breeze...man don't need to cat tunes off you".
The shaky video then pans around Fazer's house as he explains: "This is my crib bro."
Turning to focus on emails and dates on his computer screen, he says the band cut their record two months before Bizzle emailed Tulisa with the disputed sample.
Dappy weighs in on the second video - "The Proof - part 2" - this time filmed in the studio, lots of focusing on computers, file dates and shaky footage of Dappy and Fazer moving the mouse around.
But listen carefully to Dappy's tone, sounds like he's serious about making the point but there's a hint of respect in there - could a conciliation be in the air?
Wonder what Lethal B makes of all this?



... and it goes on ...



So who's right? Is it for real? And is there any hope for peace?

N-DUBZ SIGNING TO DEF JAM??? DON'T SPEAK TOO SOON

Oh the dangers of Facebook, twitter and the like.
First we see N-Dubz' official twitter page @ndubz saying: "WE ARE SIGNING TO ISLAND DEF JAM IN AMERICA NXT MONTH!!! THE OFFERS ON THE TABLE PEOPLE!! WE DONE IT!!! BAAAAAP!!!!!! DUKU URSELFS!!"
Yes they really do write like that.
But minutes later Tulisa on her own twitter page @officialtulisa, clearly stressed by the overeager response of fans, is urging calm, perhaps for fear of risking a good deal.
First she says: "Its a mistake 1 of r mates went on r facebook sayin we're signed its not true, we've bin in talks but nothins bin confirmed, we won't no til next week, wen I no I'll let u guys no ok."
Then a minute later: "Stop the hype we're not signed nothin is confirmed at all!"
So it looks like there may be official news soon but until then - hold your tongue.

THE DANGERS OF SKINNY JEANS, SEGREGATION AND SNEAKING INTO THE QUEEN VIC - FUN LOVIN' CRIMINALS' HUEY MORGAN'S A CHATTY ONE

LOOK out for skinny jeans, it stifles the creativity and blocks the blood flow to the genitals, which are pretty much what rock and roll’s about.” This is Huey Morgan’s vital advice to Camden’s up and coming young scenesters.
The Fun Lovin’ Criminal’s supposed to be discussing the band’s first album in five years, Classic Fantastic, and their upcoming show at Camden’s Koko, (March 16) but he’s a little preoccupied.


“Rock ’n’ roll’s a term used back in the 40s, a secret code word – it meant you’re going to have sex,” says Huey. “I look out for bands that are playing music that aren’t really trendy, that don’t do the whole ‘I’ve just got out of bed, look at my nice little scarf and little tight jeans’ because at the end of the day they’re not really doing what they’re supposed to, which is rock out. It’s a fashion thing but it does really prevent the blood flow to that area where all this music comes from.”

Huey’s sitting in his kitchen and, after a brief interruption from an exterminator, there to deal with a minor mouse problem, he’s on to nationalism: “When I was growing up there were all different people in my building, different walks of life, religions, cultures, creeds, and we were all Americans and we kind of understood that. I think the segregation in different neighbourhoods in England gets to a point where it could be anywhere, they don’t necessarily have to be in England.

“I believe in freedom of speech and pursuit of happiness and all that stuff, but if someone moves to a country and doesn’t have any kind of allegiance to that country ... I just think it will cause more problems than it will solve.”

And Huey, along with the rest of the band, has made England his home.

He says: “I’ve an affinity for Britain I don’t think people really understand. They think I’m a New Yorker that’s been plopped down in London – fish-out-of-water syndrome. It’s my home now. I’ve really tried to assimilate. If I can assimilate – a quintessential New Yorker – to life in Britain, it’s interesting how some people refuse to.”

His interest in all things British extends to the most unlikely of viewing choices.

“I was into EastEnders when I lived in New York,” says Huey. “When I came to England to do Top of the Pops we were on the same film lot they do Eastenders in. I remember me and Finlay Quaye sneaking into The Vic one afternoon and having a smoke, which was kind of cool.”

He enjoys hanging out in Cuba Libre, in Upper Street, where the bartender’s “a really big fan of the band”, and “makes really good frozen margaritas”, adding: “You don’t really get Caribbean Spanish food in London too often and if you do it may not be that great. Cuba Libra’s got a laid-back atmosphere, it’s a cool place.”

New album Classic Fantastic came after a drawn-out legal battle with an ex-manager. It features Dennis Pennis actor Paul Kaye, a longstanding friend.

“We weren’t in the headspace to make the record we wanted while we were doing that legal wrangling so to get out from under that is a big weight lifted,” says Huey. “A lot of bands think they create this massive piece – saving lives and making rockets and curing cancer. We make records for people as a soundtrack to their lives.

“Instead of creating a dark horrible record about us in this legal battle we made a conscious effort to try to get out from under that and come up with some really good stuff.

“You can’t imagine how pleased we are about the fact that we can be musicians. It’s a beautiful thing and to take it for granted would be the silliest mistake anyone could make. There are so many musicians who never get the chance to make a record so for us to get the chance after all this, we’ve been very fortunate.”

Huey was a big fan of actor Paul Kaye when he was playing Pennis in America.

“As a kind of a nod to our legal issues, he’s got a character called Mike Strutter who’s a notorious New York attorney – it’s Paul Kaye’s take on American laws,” he says. “We thought it would be funny to have a series of simulated phone conversations with our attorney. So he was very gracious, came down the studio and did that.”

Huey promises a fantastic show at Koko, one of his favourite venues, adding: “We want to be more intimate with the crowd because it’s our first record in five years so we want to make a good connection again. For a lot of people it’ll be the first time they’ll have ever seen us.”

LOYAL CAMDEN GIRL AMY WINEHOUSE PULLS A MEAN PINT AND MORE GOSSIP

DEPRESSING news about plans to axe BBC 6 Music. Huey Morgan, from the Fun Lovin’ Criminals – interviewed above – recently won an award for his 6Music show.

Why, when the Beeb are permanently under scrutiny for their unwise spending of public money, do they choose to delete a gem like this? I guess they need the cash to secure endless Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps repeats – that’s what teenagers really like, right?

• l know him as the man who created Lil Chris – but to most people Gene Simmons is the make-up wearing frontman of glam-rock band KISS. He and his clan put on an incredible show but, the reason that made the gig special - that it was in such a small venue - almost backfired on them in the end. Determined to put on a worthy show, they closed the show with a sustained blast of ticker-tape. I thought we in the balcony were the only ones suffering shortness of breath from the blast of air coming from the cannons, but it appears the band also suffered and were unable to continue past the one encore.
Still it was a night to remember - even if I walked off with a headache.

• Amy Winehouse was back in her old haunts this week. She showed her allegiance to Camden’s iconic Dublin Castle by pulling pints for punters. “I’m a Camden girl,” she told me. “I’d do anything for Camden.”


(Amy Winehouse at Camden Monarch - August 2008)

• They’re the band everyone’s talking about. HURTS play Koko on May 10 and we’re gonna be there – so should you.

• Ever-innovative, ex-UK beatbox champ Beardyman’s touring again and this time he’s stopping off at 02 Academy Islington (May 2). But he’s leaving his fate in the hands of his fans. Send suggestions to him, along with your city, on Twitter with hashtag #beardytour and he’ll try to include them in his set.

• Quadrophenia or is it EastEnders’ Phil Daniels and Ian Dury/Gollum actor Andy Serkis have joined the bill for the Barbican’s celebration of the city Songs in the Key of London (March 9). Together with an eclectic collection of singers – Chris Difford, Blaine Harrison, Jools Holland, James Hunter, Mike Lindsay & Becky Jacobs (of Tunng), Natty, Rico Rodriguez, Chas Smash, Suggs, Glenn Tilbrook and Kathryn Williams – they celebrate songs about the capital.

BBC PLOT OR JUST THE ECONOMY AGAIN?

A WISE, cynical hack at the KISS gig in Islington on Tuesday was debating the BBC's motives for axing 6 Music and the Asia Network.
"It's not just about cuts," he told me.
"Hardly anyone's talking about the Asia Network. But if enough of a fuss is made about 6 Music and they agree to save it, then they can let the Asia Network disappear quietly."
Was this the plan all along? A sleight of hand trick on the part of the BBC?
Threatening to lose a popular station so when it's later "saved", no-one complains when a lesser known channel is culled in compromise - sounds shrewd.
If it's true, it's working.
Most of the attention and campaigning is focused on 6 Music, leaving the Asian Network to fall under the radar slightly.
Maybe this journo's on to something.

LIGHTS, TICKER TAPE, KISS, NOEL FIELDING...AND ALL SAINTS???

THEY were the hottest tickets in town on Tuesday night - going for hundreds of pounds on eBay.
But somehow, thanks to some very kind people at 02 Academy Islington, I ended up with a pair of tickets to see KISS.
People had queued outside the venue for the whole day just for a chance to snap up a ticket at the door after the original allocation sold out in record time.
Die hard fans knew just how precious these tickets were - it's not often you get to see a stadium band in such a small venue.
Hairy men stood side-by-side with glammed-up rock chicks just to catch a glimpse of Gene Simmons et al.
And the band relished every second.
Their compact setting just emphasised their gargantuan status.
Their make-up served the dual purpose of cementing their enigmatic superhero personas while at the same time acting as a wonder anti-ageing cream - not a wrinkle in sight.
Simmons obliged with all his tongue-waving and KISS, against a backdrop of Hollywood lights, dazzled.
Their set was tight, the sound clear and their nu-metal stacked gothic boots elevated them to stellar proportions.



They ended with a blinding ticker-tape onslaught, which nearly suffocated former All Saints singers Nicole and Natalie Appleton who, until then, had been right at the front, hanging over the balcony, looking like they knew every word. (see here)
Who knew they'd be such KISS fans?
Less of a surprise was comedian Noel Fielding, who bears some resemblance to all the band members put together - although he seemed oddly lacking in make-up this time.
He and Mighty Boosh co-star Julian Barratt spent only a short time in the VIP bar before preferring to join the hairy men in the pit below.



Setlist:

Modern Day Delilah
Cold Gin
Let Me Go Rock And Roll
Say Yeah
Calling Dr. Love
Got To Choose
I Love It Loud
100,000 Years
Love Gun
Black Diamond
Rock And Roll All Nite
Detroit Rock City